MOSCOW: Russia’s top diplomat warned Thursday that prospective negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine could be successful only if they take Moscow’s interests into account, dismissing a planned round of peace talks as a Western ruse to rally broader international support for Kyiv.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov charged that Ukraine’s Western allies are currently involved in a massive diplomatic blitz to persuade as many countries of the Global South as possible to join a meeting in Switzerland to discuss a potential peace plan.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with about 70 foreign ambassadors to Moscow, Lavrov argued that the West is seeking to boost attendance at the planned round of negotiations in Switzerland by claiming that its participants would be free to discuss only certain aspects of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace plan, such as ways to ensure global food security.
Lavrov described such arguments as a Western ploy to attract more hesitant countries of the Global South and draw up to 140 participants in order to cast the conference as a show of overwhelming support around the world for Ukraine.
He emphasized that any peace talks would be a “useless waste of time” if they did not take Moscow’s interests into account.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to protect Russian interests and prevent Ukraine from posing a major security threat to Russia by joining NATO. Kyiv and its allies have denounced Russia’s military campaign as an unprovoked act of aggression.
Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s dismissal of Zelensky’s peace formula that requires Russia to pull back its troops, pay compensation to Ukraine and face an international tribunal for its action.
He stated that any prospective peace deal must respect Russia’s security interests and recognize the “new realities,” a reference to Moscow’s territorial gains.
“We are defending our truth, the interests of our people in the territories which have been founded by their ancestors who lived there for centuries,” Lavrov said. “If they are willing to talk on the basis of justice, on the balance of the realities and the balance of security interests, we are ready for it at any time.”
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Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot to win hesitant Global South
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Russian minister casts prospective Ukraine peace talks as Western plot to win hesitant Global South
- Lavrov argued that the West is seeking to boost attendance at the planned round of negotiations in Switzerland
- He emphasized that any peace talks would be a “useless waste of time” if they did not take Moscow’s interests into account
Deadly militant offensive sweeps northern and eastern Burkina Faso
- Burkina Faso, ruled by a military junta since September 2022, has faced more than 10 years of raids by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh
ABIDJAN: Al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM has in recent days claimed to have inflicted heavy losses in Burkina Faso as a surge in deadly militant attacks sweeps across the Sahelian state.
Burkina Faso, ruled by a military junta since September 2022, has faced more than 10 years of raids by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh, including the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
A February UN Security Council report noted that the “pace of JNIM attacks” had slowed in September as fighters were diverted to Mali to back an attempted fuel blockade.
“The group’s efforts in Mali have been the primary focus since early September last year,” said Heni Nsaibia, analyst at conflict monitor ACLED.
But attacks never fully stopped, and JNIM has launched a string of large-scale assaults in northern and eastern Burkina Faso since mid-February, killing dozens, including civilians.
“Since February 14, JNIM has claimed responsibility for 10 attacks across different regions of Burkina Faso,” said Hasret Kargin, an Africa studies researcher at intelligence firm Mintel World.
Deadly assaults
The deadliest incidents targeted Titao’s military base on February 15 in the northwest, where the group says it killed dozens of soldiers.
A separate ambush on the same day left around 50 forestry officers dead in Tandjari in the east.
Around 10 civilians were also killed in Titao, including seven Ghanaian traders.
“This latest round demonstrated a high degree of coordination, given the number of large-scale attacks that occurred between 12 and 22 February,” Nsaibia said.
“Over 130 people” — Burkinabe soldiers, civilian auxiliaries and JNIM fighters — “were killed in this series of battles.”
Kargin noted that JNIM has issued no formal statement explaining the recent uptick after several months of reduced activity.
But militant groups often strike “right before and during” the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, he said, adding current dry-season conditions had helped them on the ground.
‘Smuggling zones’
Recent attacks have gripped the country’s north and east, areas seen as financial hubs for Al-Qaeda’s Sahel branch.
“These are zones with numerous gold sites and key routes that fuel the group’s smuggling activities,” a Burkinabe security analyst said, requesting anonymity.
The north “acts as a bridge” to JNIM’s “main central command” in Mali, Kargin said, while he east — home to a vast nature reserve straddling Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso — allows the group to push into neighboring countries.
The forests, he added, both shield fighters from airstrikes and generate income through illegal timber sales and control of artisanal gold mining.
The Tandjari attack near regional capital Fada N’Gourma highlights JNIM’s growing freedom of movement after having “gained a lot of ground in recent years,” Nsaibia said.
“The question is not the frequency of attacks — they never stopped — but how these groups are able to inflict such heavy losses” when the army claims to be better equipped and better organized, said a Burkinabe political scientist.
The army, which rarely comments on attacks, said in mid-February it now controls 74 percent of national territory, with some “600 villages retaken.”
According to the UN report, JNIM recently appointed a senior leader in eastern Burkina Faso tasked with expanding into Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Niger and Togo.
Burkina Faso, ruled by a military junta since September 2022, has faced more than 10 years of raids by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh, including the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
A February UN Security Council report noted that the “pace of JNIM attacks” had slowed in September as fighters were diverted to Mali to back an attempted fuel blockade.
“The group’s efforts in Mali have been the primary focus since early September last year,” said Heni Nsaibia, analyst at conflict monitor ACLED.
But attacks never fully stopped, and JNIM has launched a string of large-scale assaults in northern and eastern Burkina Faso since mid-February, killing dozens, including civilians.
“Since February 14, JNIM has claimed responsibility for 10 attacks across different regions of Burkina Faso,” said Hasret Kargin, an Africa studies researcher at intelligence firm Mintel World.
Deadly assaults
The deadliest incidents targeted Titao’s military base on February 15 in the northwest, where the group says it killed dozens of soldiers.
A separate ambush on the same day left around 50 forestry officers dead in Tandjari in the east.
Around 10 civilians were also killed in Titao, including seven Ghanaian traders.
“This latest round demonstrated a high degree of coordination, given the number of large-scale attacks that occurred between 12 and 22 February,” Nsaibia said.
“Over 130 people” — Burkinabe soldiers, civilian auxiliaries and JNIM fighters — “were killed in this series of battles.”
Kargin noted that JNIM has issued no formal statement explaining the recent uptick after several months of reduced activity.
But militant groups often strike “right before and during” the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, he said, adding current dry-season conditions had helped them on the ground.
‘Smuggling zones’
Recent attacks have gripped the country’s north and east, areas seen as financial hubs for Al-Qaeda’s Sahel branch.
“These are zones with numerous gold sites and key routes that fuel the group’s smuggling activities,” a Burkinabe security analyst said, requesting anonymity.
The north “acts as a bridge” to JNIM’s “main central command” in Mali, Kargin said, while he east — home to a vast nature reserve straddling Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso — allows the group to push into neighboring countries.
The forests, he added, both shield fighters from airstrikes and generate income through illegal timber sales and control of artisanal gold mining.
The Tandjari attack near regional capital Fada N’Gourma highlights JNIM’s growing freedom of movement after having “gained a lot of ground in recent years,” Nsaibia said.
“The question is not the frequency of attacks — they never stopped — but how these groups are able to inflict such heavy losses” when the army claims to be better equipped and better organized, said a Burkinabe political scientist.
The army, which rarely comments on attacks, said in mid-February it now controls 74 percent of national territory, with some “600 villages retaken.”
According to the UN report, JNIM recently appointed a senior leader in eastern Burkina Faso tasked with expanding into Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Niger and Togo.
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